Tommy Cannon's Biography

Tommy Cannon was born Thomas Derbyshire on 27th June 1938 in Oldham.

Tommy Cannon and his comedy partner Bobby Ball seemed inseparable.

Cannon and Ball were both welders before they became a comic duo. They thrived in the eighties during which they broke a number of box office records including attendances at the London Palladium for their pantomime.

They were originally called 'The Shirell Brothers' and then 'The Harper Brothers' (Bobby Ball's real name was Robert Harper) and played local clubs.

They appeared on the television talent-spotting series 'Opportunity Knocks' as far back as 1968 but it wasn't until ten years later that they broke through into mainstream TV when they performed in Bruce Forsyth's Big Night in 1978.

The following year their Cannon and Ball series on ITV was the first of many.

Tommy Cannon explained to Peterborough.net about the duo's turning to Christianity: "We have a faith - it's nothing serious. We are basically very happy with our beliefs, but it is not religious. We don't walk around with a cross around our necks."

Cannon and Ball were late arrivals in 2005's I'm a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here!. Tommy Cannon, however, was the first celebrity to be voted out of the jungle.

In 2016, Tommy Cannon became one of the celebrities on Celebrity Masterchef.